In March of 2019, Huawei, one of the biggest smartphone manufacturers, launched its P30 series. There are three phones available from the series – P30 Lite, P30, and P30 Pro. You can guess which is the most badass simply from their names. P30 represents a sweet spot for those who don’t want to spend a lot of money. But, if you want some premium features and build quality, Huawei P30 Pro represents a joy to behold and use.
Recently, we’ve been able to see photos of the moon, which were, allegedly, taken with the camera of this beauty. Some say that the photos were fake and in this review, we’re going to go over that topic and see if that’s true, as well as give you a full, comprehensive review of P30 Pro.
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Huawei P30 Pro Review: Can P30 Pro Really Shoot the Moon?
Huawei P30 Pro comes with three cameras, as well as a TOF sensor, which is used to more effectively blur the background during the portrait shots. The most interesting camera of this device is the periscope 8MP camera, capable of 5X optical zoom, 10X hybrid zoom, and 50X digital zoom. This is the camera that is (or isn’t?) capable to capture the moon in its full glory. During the several tests, Huawei P30 Pro was able to capture mind-boggling details of the moon, as well as the craters on the surface. Given the fact that you need a special lens on a DSLR, and a tripod, P30 Pro really blew our minds with its camera.
Their Kirin CPUs are made to take advantage of the AI and the newest iteration, Kirin 980, is able to do that with their cameras. This allows the phone to detect the moon, optimize the image taken by the telephoto camera, and enhance the image before you get to see it. Huawei really knows its business. Furthermore, some technology experts claim that not only hardware and software play the role, but also the pre-existing photos of the moon. This helps the AI to make up the final picture. Mind-blowing, isn’t it?
To these bold claims, Huawei responded that the Moon mode works in an identical manner to any other AI modes. This means that the photo isn’t in any way replaced. Simply put, the AI does the job of adjusting the exposure, optimize focus, and further enhance details to make the moon look great. Even without the Moon mode, you can take great pictures of the moon, thanks to the periscope camera, according to Huawei.
Even though many reviewers managed to capture the usable photos of the moon, it’s not the first time for Huawei to mess up with their claims. Numerous times, they’ve been caught lying, which puts a shadow of a doubt over their Moon mode.
As it stands now, capturing the moon is possible but we don’t know if the photos are 100% genuine.
You’ll still need a tripod to take great photos of the moon, as shooting at 50X zoom handheld is almost impossible.
Related: How to Take Good Photos with Phone?
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What about Other Cameras on P30?
The other two cameras are wide and ultra-wide. Of course, we can count in the TOF sensor but this one isn’t a camera. It’s a sensor used for analyzing the environment and making the smooth Bokeh effect, thanks to the subtle blur of the background. The standard wide camera packs 40MP and has an OIS. The ultra-wide camera, on the other hand, comes with 20MP, without OIS. Photos taken by P30 Pro look really good. The dynamic range is excellent and the night shots are jaw-dropping. There isn’t a phone with a better night mode than P30 Pro. We think that even Pixel 3 XL isn’t better than this one.
The ultra-wide lens is decent, albeit not as great as the standard wide camera. We also noticed that the ultra-wide lens isn’t as wide as one on the Samsung S10 Plus. Sure, it can fit more into the scenery but S10 Plus blows it away in terms of width. Detail-wise, you can expect the top-notch results. The AI also works great, although the photos are slightly over-processed. This is the issue that many Chinese phones come with, especially Huawei/Honor. The processed photos can sometimes look nice but many users prefer natural colors, as S10 Plus or iPhone XS offer.
As for the video recording, P30 Pro can shoot in 4K at 30 fps, 1080p at 60 fps, and slow-mo video in 720p at 960 fps. In this department, Huawei has a lot to improve. First of all, the stabilization at 4K 30 fps isn’t great. Compared to Samsung’s S10 Plus, we can say that the video recording is mediocre. Let’s not forget that S10 Plus has OIS on 4K and can even record at 60 fps at the given resolution.
The front camera is also great, and this 32MP sensor can serve you well not only for Instagram but also for Skype calls and stunning selfies. Unfortunately, this sensor can shoot only 1080p, 30 fps videos.
Related: 5 Reasons Why Some Phone Cameras Are Better Than a DSLR Camera
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Design and Display
Huawei is well-known for its gradient designs on the back of their phones. They’ve started to include it in their mid-range phones, which is a great step for the company. As for this phone, it comes in several different colors: Aurora, Amber Sunrise, Breathing Crystal, Black, and Pearl White. With the exception of the black color, every color has some sort of gradient. My favorite colors were Pearl White and Aurora. These are the most commonly purchased. The build quality is once again excellent. We have a glass sandwich, with the slightly curved display at the front and the curved glass at the back. This sandwich wouldn’t be fulfilled without the aluminum frame, which resides at the bottom, top, and at the sides.
We also have IP68 water/dust resistance, which adds a special value to this flagship device. The bezels are minimal and we have a small notch, which houses a front camera. The loudspeaker used for calls isn’t present. Instead, Huawei uses an in-display speaker, which vibrates underneath the display and gives an excellent sound.
Huawei P30 Pro comes with a stunning OLED display, packing 6.47 inches in size and 1080×2340 pixels in resolution. It would be an understatement to say how awesome this display is. It’s punchy, vibrant, and the color accuracy is amazing. As this is an OLED display, its viewing angles are great and it supports the Always-On screen, which needs some improvements.
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Performance and Software
Performance-wise, Huawei P30 Pro is a beast. Although this CPU, Kirin 980 came out last year, this 7nm CPU will impress you with how fast it is. Surfing the internet is a joy, scrolling through social media is fast and responsive, and gaming experience is top notch. Playing PUBG on the maximum is a piece of cake for this phone. It’s able to play the most demanding games with ease. The overall performance is really good and there’s a fast optical fingerprint scanner in the display.
Software is what needs the most change for Huawei phones. The EMUI 9.1 coupled with Android 9 Pie works really well. But, still there aren’t any innovations over the past versions of EMUI. There are gestures, natural to Android 9 Pie and you still can’t pull down the notification bar from the middle of the screen. Instead, you have to swipe from the top and for people with small hands, this can be a problem.
The phone comes in several variants. You can get it with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage or go for the 128/256/512 GB of storage and 8 GB of RAM. The phone also supports the nano SD card, which translates to “doesn’t support 99% of the SD cards”, as nano SD cards are proprietary and can’t be bought easily or for a cheap price.
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Battery
The battery of P30 Pro is easily one of the best out there. With its 4200 mAh of capacity, this battery can last you for two days straight, even if you’re a more demanding user. While this isn’t the biggest battery we’ve seen in a smartphone, it comes with the fast, 40W charging. This charger can charge the battery to around 70% in just half an hour! It also supports the wireless 15W charging and of course, the reverse wireless charging, which is more of a gimmick, unless you plan to charge your wireless earbuds.
Related: Top 10 Best Smartphone Cameras for Photography in 2019
Yes, this phone can photograph the moon. But, let’s not forget about all these amazing features of a P30 Pro. Its design, performance, display, cameras, and the battery will impress even the most demanding users out there. In the first half of 2019, this phone stands as one of the best, alongside Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus.
For photographers, this is the phone that can easily create professional-grade photos and on top of that, give them numerous other features.
Check out the current price for Huawei P30 Pro on Amazon.
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